This is a follow up post to 7 Things Accomplished on Easter.
When Jesus died on the cross, many things
took place. There are several explanations in the Bible for Jesus' death, not
to be harmonized and condensed, but to be understood as explaining separate
aspects of His work. In his book Christian Theology, Millard Erickson lists
five different theories of the atonement:
"The Socinian Theory: The Atonement as Example
The
Moral-Influence Theory: The Atonement as a Demonstration of God’s Love
The
Governmental Theory: The Atonement as a Demonstration of Divine Justice
The
Ransom Theory: The Atonement as Victory over the Forces of Sin and Evil
The
Satisfaction Theory: The Atonement as Compensation to the Father"[1]
These various theories should not really
be thought of as competing, but as each explaining some different angle of what
Jesus did. Like any ;l’ty;ilu;tyo 0o’ljlk metaphor (which they certainly are,
nothing like the cross occurs in our experience), they are accurate when used
properly, but dangerous when pushed beyond their intended scope.
While I hope to blog in the future about these different aspects
of the work of Christ, the angle of explanation which seems to be the easiest
to use as a starting point (at least in our culture) is called Penal
Substitutionary Atonement. That means that Jesus was given the penalty for my
sin, as my substitute, to cover up my guilt before God (to atone/make me at-one
with Him).
Legal experts acknowledge 5 purposes for
punishment. These are deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation,
retribution and restoration. To help structure our thoughts, we will see how
God's judgment of Jesus addressed each of these reasons. You will see the five
theories all present here in some sense, but they do not correspond closely. So
let's ask the question: what does the cross actually do?
1.) The Cross Deters
Imagine the cross standing against the
darkened sky – the agonized cries of Jesus. How terrible must sin be to earn a
penalty like that, where God would have to give up His Son to shame, execution
and abandonment? The cross serves as a double deterrent to sin. For the lost,
it takes away the opportunity to downplay judgment (Hebrews 10:29); if sin was
costly enough for the heir to be punished, what will happen to the rebels?
This deterrent is not limited to the unsaved, but extends to
Christians, in a different way. While Christians are not constrained by fear of
judgment, they are motivated by something much more positive. Someone may give
me a car. If I know nothing about them or what they cost, I may be
superficially grateful, but perhaps not deeply moved to protect it. If I
recognize that it as a $200,000 luxury sports car, I will probably park in a
quarter of a mile away from any other cars, and wrap it in bubble wrap ever
night. When I understand the value of something, it is precious to me. When
Christians see the cost of forgiveness is the terrible suffering of Jesus, the
desire to sin is overcome (1 Peter 1:17-21; 1 Corinthians 6:20). For the
believer, the cross is an even more powerful deterrent than it is to the one
who is afraid.
2.) The Cross Incapacitates
Incapacitation can take many forms. Often
in our society, incarceration is used to prevent people from committing crimes.
Keeping someone in jail (theoretically) keeps them from committing another
crime. Historically, exile accomplished the same thing – if someone is out of
my country, at least they commit no crimes here. The supreme method of
incapacitation is, of course, the death penalty. Those who experience the power
of the sword do not err again.
Jesus’ death did not incapacitate Him by any means (it was
impossible for death to hold Him – Acts 2:24). Instead, by purchasing the world
with His blood, Jesus bought the rights to the title deed to the world
(Revelation 5:9-10). It is by this double authority (as Creator and Purchaser
of the cosmos) that Jesus seals Satan up for 1000 years (Revelation 20:1-3).
More profound and more permanent still – the cross incapacitates Satan
eternally, and even incapacitates death itself (Hebrews 2:14-15; 2 Timothy 1:10).
Since the cross takes away our sins - and if God is for us who can be against
us? – death itself loses the power to be ultimately victorious. Though Jesus
was bound, executed and exiled from His people for a season, His death
ultimately binds sin, casts it away from us and
kills it forever.
Come back for the next part on Monday.
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